Buffer for vehicles



W. T. THOMPSON.

BUFFER FOR VEHICLES.

APPLlCATloN FILED APR. 13. 1921.

1,389,229 Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

UNITED STATES lWATSON T. THOMPSON, or PELHAM MANOR, NEW YORK,

BUFFER FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

Application led April 13, 1921. Serial No. 460,921.

To all lwlw/m t may concer/ft.'

Beit known that I, WA'rsoN T. THOMP- soN a citizen of the United States,residing at lelham Manor, in the count of Westchester and State of NewYor have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buffers forVehicles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the buffers for automobiles and other vehicleswhich em ploy the usual leaf springs for resiliently supporting thebodies of the vehicles.v

The object of the invention is to provide a bull'e-r to be supported bythe opposite side members of the chassis, which usually project beyondthe body of the vehicle. A further objec-t is to provide cushion meansfor absorbing the lighter shocks of collisions, the said meansconsisting of coil springs, which are carried by reciprocating parts ofthe buffer. A further object is to provide novel, simple and effectivemeans for utilizing the main springs of the vehicle for absorbing theheavier shocks of the collisions, the latter means being operated by thereciprocating parts only after the tension of the coil springs has beenovercome. And a further object is to generally improve and simplify theconstruction and arrangement, as well as to lessen the cost and increasethe effectiveness of automobile buffers.

I attain these objects by the means set forth in the detaileddescription which follows, and as illustrated by the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Figure 1 is a broken vertical longitudinal section,taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2; showing by' full and dotted lines the idleand the operated positions of the buffer and related parts. Fig. 2 is atop plan view of the same, with portions broken away to show thearrangement of certain parts. Fig. 3 is respectively a top and a sideview of one of the bearing-blocks. And Fig. 4 is a similar view of oneof the bell-cranks.

In the drawing, 2-2 represent the usual spaced horizontal members of thechassis or frame of an automobile running-gear, which are usuallysupported by the common elliptical leaf springs 3-3, the said springsbeing mountedupon, and rigidly supported by a crossbar or beam 4, bymeans of clips 4 The forward ends 3a of the springs are secured to thecorresponding ends of the members A2 2 in a well-known manner, While therear ends 3b are usually pivotally connected to the lower ends of links5, the upper ends of said links being pivoted to the members 2.,-2 as at5. The dotted lines 1n Fig. 1 show the flexible nature of the lastdescribed connections. 4

My improved buffer mechanism consists of the following parts: 6represents similar bearing blocks which are mounted centrally on thesprings 3-3, and are notched on their top sides to receive the stirrupclips 4.-. T hese block s are bored out to receive bolts or pins 6,which serve to pivotally support in axial alinement similar bell-cra1iks7-7, so that the said cranks may be rocked in vertical planes whichcorrespond to the longitudinal axis of the main springs. The bell-cranks7 are yieldingly connected to the chassis members 2 2 by links 8. Whenthe butler mechanism is idle, the bell-cranks are normally positioned asshown by the full lines in Figs. 1 and 2.

9 represents a common bumper or buffer bar, which yusually extendstransversely across, and some distance away from the ends of the members2 and the springs 3, and may consist of a channel-iron, or any othersuitable shape or material. The bar 9 is preferably pivoted, near itsopposite ends, to similar rods 10l0, by pins 9. These rods are supportedby and reciprocate 1n similar brackets 11-11 which may be rigidlysecured to the members 2, by rivets or bolts 11a, the said bracketsbeing provided with forwardly extending arms 11b, and the latter havingsimilar perforated lugs 11c 1n which the rod-s slide. Near the freeends, the rods 10 pass loosely through brackets 12-12, which are rigidlyattached tothe members 2 2.. The free ends of the rods 10 are forked, asat 10a, and the said forks are disposed in the path of lugs or bosses 7which preferably comprise interal parts of arms 7b of the bell-cranks.

etween the bearinglugs 11c and the brackets 12 and 12 are disposedcompression coil springs 13, the forward ends of said springs bearingagainst similar collars 10b, which are secured to the rods by pins 10,while the rear ends of the springs 13 are normally in engagement withthe brackets 12. By this construction and arrangement, the initialimpact or shock of .a collision is absorbed by the springs 13, which arecompressed by the inward movement of the bumper bar 9, the rods 10-10,and the collars 10. In case the impact of a collision is greater thanthe tension exerted by the springs 13, the rods itl-10 Will be driveninwardly until the forks l()a engage the bosses 7a. The further inwardmovement ot the rods l() rocks the bell-crankston their pivots 6', fromtheir full line to theydotted line position, shown in Fig 1. Vhen thebell-cranks are thus rocked, their rear arms 7c move downwardly andcorrespondingly pull the members 2-'2 toward the main springs 3-3. Thisresults in the straightening or flattening of the said springs, as shownby the dotted lines in Fig. l. In this lWay, the heavier ormore violentshocks of collisions are readily and etfectually absorbed by thepowerful main springs of the vehicle. By thus utilizing the main springsfor absorbing the heavier shocks, the buffer mechanism may beconstructed of relatively light parts, thereby obviating all unnecessaryweight at the forward and rear ends of the vehicles, to which myimprovement y may be applied. By employing the bellcranks 7 7', andmounting them in the novel and simple manner herein shown, When takenWith the extremely simple construction and method of mounting of thebuiier bar and the reciprocating rods, I am able to equip automobilesand other vehicles with my improvement by a comparatively smallexpenditure of money and labor.- rI`he main springs of the vehicles aregenerally made to withstand hard usage and are therefore capa-ble ofabsorbing the shocks or impacts of any collision Without danger of beingimpaired or broken. The disposing of the rods l0 and thtJ bell-cranks 7,so that the said parts are normally disconnected While the bumpermechanism is idle, permits the usual functioning of the main springsWithout interference from the buffer parts. The dotted lines in Fig. 1also serve to show the flexing ofthe main sprlngs 3 while the vehicle istraveling over rough roads.

Obviously the details of the device may be varied Within the scopedefined by the appended claims Without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim, is-

1. The combination with the side members of a vehicle frame and the mainsprings, of bell-cranks pivotally mounted on said springs and connectedwith said side members, reciprocating rods carried by said side membersand normally separated from said bell-cranks, adapted to engage and rocksaid bell-cranks when said rods are driven in- Wardly by the impacts ofcollisions, a bufferbar connecting the corresponding ends of said rods,and independent means for absorbing the initial shocks of collisions.

2. An automobile buifer comprising in combination a buffer-bar, similarreciprocating rods pivoted at one end to said bar and operativelysupported by the side members of the automobile frame, bell-crankspivotally supported by the main springs of the automobile in line withthe said rods adapted to be rocked by said rods whenever said buffer-barcontacts violently with an obstruction, means .for yieldingly connectinsaid bell-cranks with the side members, an resilient means for normallyholding said rods out of an engagement with the bellcranks.

3. The combination of the side members of a vehicle frame, ellipticalsprings su porting said frame, bell-cranks pivotall) supported by saidsprings and rockable in vertical planes in line with the longitudinalaxes of said springs, reciprocating rods supported by said members andnormally spaced from said bell-cranks adapted to rock said bell-cranksWhenever said rods are driven toward said bell-cranks by the impacts ofcollisions, means for yieldingly connecting said bell-cranks to the sidemembers, and cushion means for absorbing the shocks of the collisionswithout disturbing said bellcranks.

4. The combination with the side members of a vehicle frame and theelliptical springs, of a pair of reciprocating buier rods carried bysaid side members, a buierbar connecting the corresponding ends of saidrods, bell-cranks pivotally secured to said springs and yieldinglyconnected to said side members, Said bell-cranks adapted tobe engaged bysaid buffer-rods for rocking said bell-cranks in the direction formoving said side members toward said springs.

5. A buifer mechanism for vehicles, including bell-cranks pivotallymounted on the main springs of the vehicle and yieldingly connected toparts of the vehicle frame, reciprocating rods located at the oppositesides of the vehicle, said rods being normally disengaged from thebell-cranks, but adapted to rock said bell-cranks Whenever said rods aredriven inwardly by the impact of collisions, 'cushion means for normallyseparating said rods and the bell-cranks adapted to absorb the initialshocks produced by the collisions, and a buffer-bar connecting thecorresponding ends of said rods.

6. The combination With the side members of the vehicle frame and themain springs, of a bell-crank connecting each side member with thecorresponding spring, reciprocating rods normally disengaged from saidbell-cranks adapted to rock said bellcranks when said rods are moved inone direction by the impact of a violent collision, a buffer-bar foroperating said rods simultaneously, and springs for moving said rods inthe opposite direction and adapted to absorb the initial and lightershocks of the collisions.

7. The combination With the side members of a Vehicle frame and theelliptical springs, of a bumper-bar, reciprocating rods pivoted to oneend of said bar, the othe-r ends of said rods being forked, bracketscarried by said members for operatively supporting said rods, bearingblocks mounted on said springs, bell-cranks pivoted to said blocks, thecorresponding arms of said bellcranks haring lugs adapted to be engagedby said forks whenever the shocksof collisions are violent for rockingsaid bell-cranks, links connecting the free arms of said bellcranks tothe said members, and coil springs carried by said rods for absorbingthe initial and lighter shocks of the collisions without disturbing thebell-cranks.

8. The combination with the side members of a vehicle frame and the mainsprings,

of a bell-crank pivotally mounted near the middle of each spring, linksconnecting the .corresponding arms of said bell-cranks with said sidemembers, the other arms of said bell-cranks being normally free,reciprocating rods supported by said side members, the inner ends ofsaid rods being forked and the said forks being normally spaced from thefree arms of said bell-cranks, adapted to rock said bell-cranks whensaid rods are forced inwardly by the heavier impacts of collisions, abumper-bar connected to the opposite ends of said rods, and cushionmeans disposed between the ends of each rod adapted to normally holdsaid forks awa from the bell-cranks and vto absorb the initial shocksproduced by the collisions.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

VATSON T. THOMPSON.

